Immigration policy was the first weapon used to punish Vladimir Putin and his cronies following their Crimean consumption.

Eric Risberg/The Associated PressGoogle co-founder Sergey Brin, who emigrated from Russia, gestures after riding in a driverless car with Gov. Jerry Brown, left, in September 2012 in Mountain View. One way to punish Russia is to attract more like Br… — Eric Risberg/The Associated Press
Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who emigrated from Russia, gestures after riding in a driverless car with Gov. Jerry Brown, left, in September 2012 in Mountain View. One way to punish Russia is to attract more like Brin

A dominant line considers a Putin who is nostalgic for the Soviet empire and with a deep-seated desire to reconstruct a modern, greater Russia.

While he may have broader irredentist goals and be willing to throw the dice on Ukraine to this end, his calculation of the costs of invading Crimea needs also to be understood as a move for his personal political survival.

When looking to history, the Russian military moves in Ukraine may resemble Hitler’s “Anschluss” – the German annexation of Austria leading up to WWII – but the real effect is for this to be Putin’s “Tiananmen Square.” (read more)